With soft steps, David beat a tactical retreat. Something gruesome entered his eyes as his head spun around. More rafflesias grew on the trees. Every way he spun, more of these flowers were about.

  " How did I not notice them before? " David questioned himself. With a quick shake of his head, he stored this problem for later. Right now, he knew that only escaping from this hell hole was an option.

  More and more flowers of death revealed themselves through means unknown. Some attached to trees. Others hidden behind bushes. While some hung onto corpses as they lumbered about.

  He eyed overhead warily as he moved at a turtle's pace, measured steps avoiding any stray twig. Snails were attached to the rafflesias, while said snails were attached to the trees.

  One of the corpses, a raflesia crowning its head, passed him by. Mere inches away from David. The energy of Sciath left his body to make him more. Stronger, faster, and better, but in this case, it was focused on remaining unseen.

  David did not want to discover what those plants did to a living being, but it reminded him suspiciously of a particular kind of parasite. On some level, he understood that throwing magic into the mix would cause even more crazy things to appear over time, and this was just an expression of this.

  An impressive rafflesia lurked behind a bush, attached to its victims via tentacles, sucking them dry; Bones of varying shapes and sizes scattered at its pulpous bottom, evidence of its draining to achieve its hulking size.

  David stopped. The beat of his heart sounded like an engine, pistons pumping in a never-ending storm. He took deep breaths, in and out, trying to gain a semblance of control before fear completely overtook his mind. The same fear he had always felt but denied at first was undeniable now.

  A short distance separated him from the towering flower—three or four arm lengths at best. In a rhythmic beat, the flower shrunk and expanded, its purpose unclear.

  " We could kill them. " The faintest whisper of a voice broke into David's mind. David had hoped, no prayed, that the other being occupying his body was sealed. Castaway under the layers of his mind, but here it was. Distant and idle, it whispered to him once more.

  Beads of sweat cascaded down his brow as he stepped past the parasitic life-from. The tendrils appeared stiff and menacing, pointing in his direction as one. All of them had begun to point at him.

  Now David began to panic. His foot raised into raise, he paused. With every beat of his heart, he felt as if an anvil was trying to burst from his chest.

  Painfully slow, the five sponge-like things that surrounded the core opened. Rows upon rows of sinister teeth reflected the light, and a tongue lay in the middle of it all. Ooze and pollen cascading down in a river, waiting to wrap around unassuming prey.

  David lost all semblance of thought; only one thing remained. He needed to run, to gain as much distance from these horrible things.

  With all his might, he took off. Deep guttural croaks filled the air, coming from the trees, the bushes, and even from the ground. Every tentacle within sight fixed on David's blurring figure as he dashed away.

  Fear strong enough to bend three men at the knee only spurned him on. It drove him out of the encirclement back to the river.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  But suddenly, right in front of his feet, the ground became disturbed. A bulbous monster reared its ugly head as red tendrils shot at him. Without a way to stop his sprint, he jumped with all his might. Muscles tensed and uncoiled in one smooth motion, driving him twice the height of himself into the air.

  The tentacles that tried to bite into his ankle barely missed their target as David appeared to fly across the river.

  With the heavy thuds of his boots, David landed unscathed. He dared not turn around, fearing any split second lost would spell his doom. Nothing would stop him from keeping the advantage he held.

  Uncomfortably close, more croaks sounded behind before David saw the saving grace of his burdened mind. A wall of golden energy interspersed with white runes appeared ahead. Behind this wall, fluid-like fog rolled about.

  Would David be able to pass? Or was it a one-way ticket into the swamp with no way to return? David mused to himself, but he had no other choice. It was now or never he had to try.

  David burst into the magical display head first. Ripples marked his passing, but no speck of his presence remained. Flowers appeared from the ground, eerie red tentacles raised. In unison, they whipped their tentacles at the wall. But not even ripples remained, as the wall locked them in, preventing them from pursuing their prey.

  He was delighted to find that the wall didn't hinder his passing. Even more so as the loud, breathless croaks ceased the moment he entered the fog. But David would not relax just yet.

  With the precision of a machine, David pumped his legs, wanting to create the greatest distance he could between the crazy swamp and himself. The image of mutant flowers proliferating and reanimating on corpses would forever haunt him, he was sure.

  Deep into the town, he once again found himself at his camp from the previous night.

  Familiarity and safety had driven him here. Between water and food, David knew water was more important. Especially with his hulking frame, he could survive a week or more without any nourishment—not that he had a mind to eat anything after the grueling scenes playing in his head.

  The midday sun glistened off his Pacific gray marble-like skin, with grey parts absorbing the light and faint veins of white reflecting the rays. The two created a fascinating display, forming a halo around his exposed flesh.

  Oblivious to his appearance, David decided it was best to remain in his camp today. Water had quenched his thirst for now, and food could wait. The path of the Sciath was long and arduous. He needed to refill his batteries and maybe even strengthen the path. There was a void in his chest, left behind by energies he had used.

  Deftly, he stepped inside the building and ducked his head, afraid he would slam it into the low-hanging door frame. As he descended into the cellar, the energies of Gaia felt stronger, making him feel more connected to the life-giving earth.

  He sat on the ground, foot crossed at the ankles, sword pulled into his lap, hands resting easily on the hilt and tip, in absolute darkness.

  Here, he felt safe, protected, and enveloped in a warm embrace similar to that of a mother. David knew this was not any mother but the mother who had "birthed" him, enabling him to be reborn.

  Streams of mystical white light appeared from the floor, the walls, and David himself. The energies danced together, a performance so intricate it left anyone who studied it envious, before merging. With the passing of time, these energies formed a simple stone.

  The rock was white, with some earthy tones playfully breaking its surface. It suspended midair and rotated slowly, growing in size as more light was absorbed.

  Condensing was a crucial step for David. He had forgotten Brahan's teachings, and as everything had changed, he had become too unfocused on his craft. But this felt right, as bubbling feelings of joy erupted from David's stomach.

  More and more earthy tones appeared on the rock, replacing the white now dominating its surface. The revolutions slowed to a crawl and stopped shortly after.

  An insatiable need arose from the depths of David's chest. A need so hot and all-consuming that he almost lost control. Even his bared fangs and outstretched claws wouldn't make David succumb to the desire.

  " I want it, now! " Dark whispers assaulted him once more, but he warred them down.

  David knew haste makes waste, as Brahan had always beaten into him with the cane he "used" for walking. Not that he needed the cane, David thought to himself.

  David gently enveloped the stone, still suspended in midair, with both hands. He inspected its surface slowly, hoping to see more silver or gold lines within it, but they were too subtle to detect.

  It was a precious thing; after all, he had drained the area two times now. The energies of Gaia, like most energies of the world, needed a time of recuperation to fill the earth again. David could forcefully draw more, but this would leave the earth barren for further condensing.

  He also knew that the deeper underground and more encased in the earth he was, the more pure the energies became. He could work twice as hard with four times the effort in another place and wouldn't receive half the benefit.

  David unbuttoned his tunic with practiced grace before tunes of divine origin escaped his lips.

  A tale of fear and flight enveloped the area, but it was a soothing song—as if David was retelling the tale for the rock in his hands of his earlier dilemma.

  With absolute care, David gently placed the rock against his chest. His skin rippled as it accepted the offering, swallowing it whole. A vivid green hue appeared under his hand; fingers spread across his chest couldn't contain the light from leaking.

  A crystalline structure glowed underneath his flesh, buried deep in the cage of his ribs on the opposite side of his heart. But unlike the ever-pumping muscles that delivered blood, this structure was inert. Lifeless as if it was just a stone.

  But soon, David hoped, this stone would come to life, creating a balance between his heart and the stone. In perfect harmony, they would beat and create a song of their own inside his body.

  Unity of two sources would enable him to call forth his true soul and true name. The first step onto the path of the Sciath and Unity was not far away.